Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Faith Groups Join Call to End Family Detention

Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II met with White House staff, representing the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), along with representatives of 17 other faith groups, to discuss the need for a decisive end to family detention. The press release, with his statement, is below. Also, find it on the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) website here.Check out some great resources and action items on family detention on the Office of General Assembly's page.

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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE

May 25, 2015

Contact: Shaina Aber, 202-629-5918, saber@jesuits.org

FAITH GROUPS JOIN
CALL TO END FAMILY DETENTION

Washington, DC – Last Thursday, May
21, a group of 18 faith leaders met with White House Staff to call for the end to
family detention, delivering a letter signed by nearly 1,500 faith leaders from
around the country. These leaders join calls by a growing number of Congressional
members, civil society groups, and advocates to end this inhumane practice once
and for all.

The U.S. government reinstated family detention in response to the
arrival of 68, 684 family units at the U.S./Mexico border
in 2014. Currently, over 1500 refugee mothers and children from Central America
are being incarcerated in three detention centers in Karnes City, TX; Dilley,
TX; and Berks County, PA. In 2009, the Obama administration closed the T. Don
Hutto detention facility in Taylor, Texas due to complaints of abuse and poor
conditions. Advocates and those currently detained report similar abuse as well
as inadequate nutrition and medical care.

A lawsuit challenging the administration on this practice was set to be
resolved this weekend, but negotiations between the parties have been extended
until June 12, with a final agreement expected on June 19. Administration
attorneys maintain that detention allows for greater flexibility in responding
to surges of unauthorized migration.

Below are statements
from faith groups that participated in the White House meeting:

“As Jesuits we stand in solidarity with the mothers, infants, toddlers,
children and teens being unjustly incarcerated in so-called “family immigration
detention” facilities. The overwhelming majority of these children and mothers
are asylum seekers who fled unspeakable violence and are searching for
safe-haven within our borders. We call on the Obama Administration to end this
corrosive and immoral practice immediately. These families are not flight
risks, they quite obviously pose no danger to our communities. There is simply
no excuse for the continued detention of mothers, children, toddlers and babies
in any immigration detention facility in the United States. This shocking
practice should not be the legacy of President Obama’s policy toward refugees
and immigrants.” —Very Rev. Fr. Timothy P. Kesicki, SJ, President of the Jesuit
Conference of the United States and Canada

“Family detention conflicts with the very core of the Quaker principle
to honor that of God in each person. Any policy that detains families, asylum
seekers or refugees is both immoral and illegal under U.S. and international
law. We believe that family detention allows private prison corporations to
profit off of migrants’ desperation. We call for an end to all family detention
-- it is dehumanizing and it inhibits access to legal assistance. We’ve also
seen that it damages physical, mental and familial health. And, worst of all,
it is completely unnecessary.” — Diane Randall, Executive Secretary, Friends Committee
on National Legislation

“In the name of justice and mercy, I call on the administration to change
its response to the desperate cry of refugee mothers and children fleeing
violence and crushing poverty in Central America. Instead of offering
protection and opportunities to pursue their asylum cases, we have locked them
up en masse, replicating the trauma from which they flee. With this two-week
delay on the final outcome of the court case challenging this practice, these
mothers and children continue to suffer. We are a better nation than our
actions demonstrate; mercy for these mothers and children ought to be our only
option at this time. Family detention must end now.”

"Over the next two weeks, Sisters of
Mercy ask the Obama administration to take immediate actions to end the
shameful policy of incarcerating refugee woman and children. President Obama's
decision to comply or to appeal Judge Dolly Gee's ruling will determine his
legacy on immigration, as much as his fight for comprehensive immigration
reform and deferred action."

– Sr. Patricia McDermott, President of the
Sister of Mercy of the Americas.

“Mass detention shatters families and traumatizes children. The extension
of time for agreement in the court case on family detention means these women
and children will continue to suffer. Since the Order was formed in the early
19th century in France, the Sisters of the Good Shepherd have dedicated their
lives to protecting women and children. They condemn this detention
of innocent people. As Director of the The National Advocacy Center
of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, and speaking on behalf of the Sisters and
lay staff in 74 countries, I strongly urge the government to
immediately end this shameful detention policy.” — Lawrence Couch,
Director of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd

“Many within our Disciples of Christ churches are deeply concerned about
the practice of family detention, which has re-emerged in the past year as a
method for housing children of all ages and mothers who have fled to the United
States to seek protection from horrific violence in Central America.
Nearly all are eligible for asylum. We have prayed, visited, and
supported the spiritual care of these vulnerable populations, and continue to
urge the Obama administration to turn away from the practice of family
detention, which locks up children in unlicensed facilities often run by
for-profit prison companies. Instead, we urge the administration employ
much more humane alternatives to detention which promote healing and offer
legal and mental support and hope for God’s children.”— Rev. Dr. Ron
Degges, President of Disciples Home Missions

About Me

The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness is the public policy information and advocacy office of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Its task is to advocate, and help the church to advocate, the social witness perspectives and policies of the Presbyterian General Assembly. The church has a long history of applying these biblically and theologically-based insights to issues that affect the public — maintaining a public policy ministry in the nation's capital since 1946.
Reformed theology teaches that because a sovereign God is at work in all the world, the church and Christian citizens should be concerned about public policy. In addition, Presbyterian forefather John Calvin wrote, "Civil magistry is a calling not only holy and legitimate, but by far the most sacred and honorable in human life."